LI Home Sales Drop Amid Record-Low Inventory

LONG ISLAND, NY — The local real estate market continues to be a roller coaster, with home sale prices in January going up in Nassau and down in Suffolk, according to new sales data from OneKey Multiple Listing Service.

According to the latest sales data from OneKey, the median home price in January in Nassau County was $650,000 — up $5,000 from the month prior. In Suffolk, the month-to-month price dropped by $5,000 to $520,000.

Despite the ups and downs, home prices are still much higher than they were this time last year. Year-to-year sales prices are up 8.2 percent in Nassau and 10.3 percent in Suffolk.

Part of the reason for the high prices is low inventory. The number of sales were down both month-to-month and year-over-year. There were 1,172 homes sold in Nassau in January, and 1,342 in Suffolk. That's a 7.3 percent year-over-year decrease in Nassau, and a whopping 16.6 percent drop in Suffolk.

Real estate is one of the few areas that hasn't been suffering since the pandemic lockdowns ended in the spring of 2020. It set off a flurry of buying across the Island. And with limited inventory, prices soared. And though prices are beginning to dip, it is still a great seller's market.

Median sales prices hit record highs in both Nassau and Suffolk counties last year. Prices rose to $670,000 in Nassau and $530,000 in Suffolk. Though they have started to come down from that peak that was hit last summer, home prices are still not near pre-pandemic levels.